Nothing seems to push lawmakers to get their jobs done and pass legislation more than the threat of having to be in Washington over the holidays.

Knowing this, Speaker Paul D. Ryan made it clear Thursday that Congress staying in session over Christmas is in option if they have not advanced a tax overhaul bill by then.

People - Christmas - Speaker - Heritage - Foundation

“We’re going to keep people here for Christmas if we have to,” the speaker said at a Heritage Foundation event. “I don’t care. We have to get this done.”

However, that won’t be necessary if all goes according to plan.

Goal - Senate - Budget - Resolution - Week

The goal is for the Senate to pass a budget resolution next week and go to conference with the House to quickly resolve the differences between their budgets. Once both chambers have adopted a reconciled budget with a common reconciliation instruction for the tax overhaul, the House Ways and Means Committee will release the tax overhaul bill and go to markup.

The House will then take up the measure on the floor with the goal of getting it passed and over to the Senate in November, Ryan said.

Track - Timeline - Wise

“We are actually on track timeline wise,” he said.

If the House does get a bill to the Senate in November, timing is then out of Ryan’s control until the upper chamber acts. But the Christmas threat is not empty as the two chambers are expected to pass different bills and a conference committee will likely be needed to close the gaps.